Firebase Invitesplat_iosplat_androidplat_cppplat_unity

Firebase Invites are an out-of-the-box solution for app referrals and
sharing via email or SMS.
To customize the invitation user experience, or to generate links
programmatically, use Firebase Dynamic Links. Firebase Invites is deprecated. You can create
cross-platform invitation links that survive app installation using
Firebase Dynamic Links. Please see
Migration Guide for more details.

Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways of getting users to install your
app. In a recent study
of thousands of smartphone users, researchers found that the #1 reason people
discovered an app is because they heard about it from a friend or colleague.
Firebase Invites makes it easy to turn your app's users into your app's
strongest advocates.

Firebase Invites builds on Firebase Dynamic Links,
which ensures that recipients of links have the best possible experience for
their platform and the apps they have installed.

Key capabilities

Rich sharing that's easy for users

Firebase Invites makes it simple for users to send content to their
friends, over both SMS and email, by ensuring that referral codes, recipe
entries, or other shared content gets passed along with the
invitation—no cutting-and-pasting required.

Rich sharing that's easy to implement

Firebase Invites handles the invitation flow for you, allowing you
to deliver a straightforward user experience without taking engineering
time away from the rest of your app.

Invitations that survive the installation process

Because Firebase Invites is built on Dynamic Links, invitations work
across the App Store and Play Store installation processes and ensure that
recipients get the referral code or shared content, whether or not they
have your app installed.

Complete list of features

Sending invitations

Combines the most common sharing channels

Firebase Invites can be sent over SMS or email.

Merged contacts selector

The share screen's contact list is populated from the user's Google
Contacts and the contacts stored locally on the device.

Recipient recommendations

The share screen recommends recipients based on the contacts the user
communicates with frequently.

Customizable invitation message

You can set the default message to be sent with invitations. This message
can be edited by the user when sending invitations.

Customizable rich-text email invitations

You can customize email invitations in either of two ways:

Provide custom images that will be used along with additional text
and graphics from the app's entry in the App Store or Play Store.

Provide HTML for a fully customized email invitation.

Low friction for users

Android users can send invitations without signing in to your app.

Receiving invitations

Installation flow initiation

Firebase Invites smartly directs the recipient to the appropriate
store when they open the link and need to install the app. iOS users are
sent to the App Store, Android users are sent to the Play Store, and web
users are sent to the store for the sender's platform.

Installation flow survival

Invitations use Dynamic Links, which ensure that the link information contained
in the invitation doesn't get lost, even if the user has to install the
app first.

Low friction for users

iOS and Android users can receive invitations without signing in to their
Google Accounts.

How does it work?

When a user taps one of your app's Share buttons and chooses the
Firebase Invites channel—usually named "Email and SMS"—the
Firebase Invites sharing screen opens. From the sharing screen, the user
selects recipients from their Google contacts and contacts stored locally on
the device, optionally customizes the invitation message and sends the
invitations. Invitations are sent by email or SMS, depending on the available
contact information, and contain a Dynamic Link to your app.

When the invitation's recipients open the Dynamic Link in the invitation, they are
sent to the Play Store or App Store if they need to install your app; then, your
app opens and can retrieve and handle the link.

Implementation path

Handle links in your app

Enable linking directly to the content you want to share. You handle links
on iOS by using custom URL schemes or Universal Links and on Android by
using intent filters.

Add Share button to your app

When users click a Share button, use the Firebase Invites SDK to
set up and open the sharing screen.

Handle Dynamic Links in your app

To enable your app to receive invitations, when your app opens, use the
Dynamic Links SDK to check if a Dynamic Link was passed to it. If so, get the link
from the Dynamic Link data and handle the link as necessary.